Emirates sees strong winter bookings as travel demand rises

Dubai: Emirates has entered the winter travel season with strong booking momentum across a growing number of markets, following a stronger-than-expected summer and continued investment in its fleet, network and customer experience. Between July and August, the airline carried more than 8.6 million passengers while maintaining healthy seat load factors across its network. Emirates is currently operating at around 93% of its pre-disruption capacity, with demand continuing to grow as the winter travel season approaches. Winter bookings, beginning in late October, are trending positively despite a broader shift towards customers making travel decisions closer to departure. Demand is running ahead of last year in markets including South Africa, Brazil, India, Portugal, Egypt, Ghana, Colombia, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, as well as Nepal through Emirates' partnership with flydubai. The UAE continues to be a strong outbound travel market, while demand for premium travel on Emirates is also increasing. Strong summer demand Routes across West Asia, Europe, the Middle East, the Americas and Africa recorded seat load factors above 75% during the summer period, with particularly strong performance on services to and from Indonesia, Côte d'Ivoire and the UK. Demand for Premium Economy continued to grow across the network, with the Americas recording the strongest increase in bookings for the cabin. Dubai also maintained strong inbound traffic. During the second half of August alone, more than 500,000 passengers arrived in Dubai on Emirates flights, a 7% increase compared with the same period in 2025. These included residents returning ahead of the new academic year, new residents relocating to Dubai for work and lifestyle opportunities, and visitors choosing the emirate for a late-summer holiday. Over the summer, Emirates enhanced its customer offering by introducing one free date change across its network and unlimited free date changes for Dubai-bound travel. The airline also reduced refund fees on journeys to Dubai and launched Comprehensive Travel Cover, which includes medical protection related to conflict and airspace disruption, alongside accommodation, ground support and rebooking assistance when required. Fleet and product upgrades Since January 2026, Emirates has received 18 aircraft, comprising 11 Airbus A350s and seven Boeing 777 freighters. A further six A350s are scheduled for delivery before the end of the year. To date, 104 aircraft have completed the airline's retrofit programme, including 53 Boeing 777s and 51 A380s. As a result, 137 aircraft now feature Premium Economy and Emirates' latest cabin products. That figure is expected to reach 155 aircraft by the end of December. Emirates-summerperformance-infographic Premium Economy is now available on services to 90 destinations, with six additional destinations set to receive the cabin before year-end, including Paris, Delhi and Stockholm. Connectivity upgrades are also continuing, with nearly 50 Emirates aircraft now equipped with Starlink high-speed inflight internet. This year, Emirates introduced its new U-dream headrest on A350 Economy Class seats, unveiled what it described as the industry's first Premium Economy seat with privacy dividers, and opened next-generation lounges in Munich, Frankfurt and Manchester. Network expansion continues Emirates plans further network growth ahead of winter through new destinations, additional frequencies and wider deployment of its newest aircraft. Helsinki will join the Emirates network on October 1, served by the Airbus A350. The aircraft currently operates to 30 destinations from Dubai, a figure expected to rise to 36 by the end of the year. The airline is also increasing capacity on several routes. Accra, Tokyo Narita, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi will receive second daily services, while one of its daily Delhi flights will be upgraded to an A380. The A350 will also be introduced on services to Larnaca, Malta, Nairobi and Hamburg from late October, followed by Mauritius in November. Retrofitted Boeing 777 aircraft will begin serving Stockholm in October and Frankfurt in November. Beyond its own network, Emirates' 168 codeshare, interline and intermodal partnerships provide access to an additional 1,750 cities, with more than 13,000 Emirates passengers connecting to partner-operated services each day. The Emirates-flydubai partnership now offers access to more than 214 destinations across over 100 countries, creating more than 4,600 connection opportunities through Dubai. Since the partnership was launched in 2017, the two airlines have carried more than 28 million passengers across their combined network.